Biogas ‘Indispensable’ To European Development

The biogas industry is an “indispensable part of European development”, according to the president of the European Biogas Association (EBA) Dr Jan Stambasky.

Blue and Green Tomorrow reported on his comments, which he made as the EBA’s sixth statistical report on the state of the sector was released.

The figures show that the number of biogas plants in Europe has nearly tripled in the past six years, with 17,376 such sites operating at the end of 2015.

In addition, there were 459 operational biomethane plants around the continent at the same time.

The UK was cited as one of the nations to make the biggest strides with its biogas industry, adding a further 77 new plants to the number operating in the country. This represents a 17 per cent increase on 2014’s figures.

In November, the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association released a new map of the UK showing the location of all 540 of its operational plants. Anyone with an interest in the industry can use the map to search the UK’s sites, and see what kind of energy each one produces.

They will either be used for electricity, heat or biomethane production.

And there has also been a steady increase in the amount of electricity generated by biogas, with the EBA stating that 60.6TWh are currently produced, which is enough to meet the needs of 13.9 million European households.

These kinds of plants require specialist equipment to operate effectively, such as tank breather valves and emergency vents. If you need any assistance with installing or maintaining a biogas plant, contact us to find out how we could help.